Accomplice and Courtside Ventures Co-Led the Round, with Investors Including the Kraft Group, Haslam Sports Group, Michael Rubin, Jason Robins, James Harden, Joel Embiid, Martin Brodeur, Lil Baby, and Several Other Entertainment Industry Notables
SAN FRANCISCO, June 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Jackpot, the online lottery ticket app and platform, has closed a $35M Series A round powered by the world's biggest investors and operators in sports, media, and entertainment.
The round was co-led by Accomplice and Courtside Ventures, with participation from the Kraft Group, Michael Rubin, Haslam Sports Group, Elysian Park Ventures, Arctos Sports Partners, Sapphire Sport, Theo Epstein, Fenway Sports Group President Mike Gordon, DraftKings co-founder and CEO Jason Robins, NBA stars James Harden and Joel Embiid, NHL legend Martin Brodeur, musical artist Lil Baby, and Boston Red Sox President and CEO Sam Kennedy, among others.
Jackpot is a digital platform that facilitates the purchase of official state lottery tickets online. Customers will finally be given the opportunity to buy lottery tickets via a mobile app or desktop experience that allows them to shop from the comfort of their own homes. The new capital will enable Jackpot to launch its product in the United States and to transform the lottery industry through aggressive hiring, strategic acquisitions, partnerships with state lotteries, and local market expansion.
In the United States, the $100 billion per year lottery business has been mostly offline and cash-based, with very little technology and data integration. In 2021, about half of all Americans purchased lottery tickets, but only ~5% of those sales came from online transactions.
As more states allow online lottery ticket sales, Jackpot's highly developed proprietary technology offers a best-in-class experience for customers. This new experience will help facilitate an increase in lottery ticket sales for the states where the service is permitted, by driving traffic towards the lottery as a form of entertainment and by bringing the lottery experience to a younger audience that may never have purchased lottery tickets before. And with up to 95 cents of every dollar spent on lottery games going back to the community through contributions to education, healthcare, prizes and other public initiatives, Jackpot's mission to build the most user-friendly digital lottery destination is seen as a growth accelerator for positive state spending.
Jackpot's veteran executive team has a proven track record of success in the technology, gaming, and licensing industries. The team is led by Akshay K. Khanna, co-founder and CEO of Jackpot - North America, an accomplished sports and licensing executive who formerly ran StubHub's North America business and Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment's strategy group; co-founder Roi More, the co-founder of Gett; and co-founder Yariv Ron, a real money gaming industry veteran.
"As long-time investors in the real money game space, we look for companies with the vision, the expertise, and the experience to offer real, tangible value. Jackpot has all of these, making it perfectly positioned to reimagine the lottery market," said Ryan Moore, partner at Accomplice.
"Jackpot is a natural fit within our portfolio," said Deepen Parikh, partner at Courtside Ventures. "Millions of Americans are playing the lottery every day, and Jackpot will now make the experience even better for consumers. We're excited to work with the team at Jackpot to revolutionize this massive industry."
"More and more states across the country are now open to online lottery ticket sales, creating a huge opportunity to digitize the industry and bring a better, more convenient experience for the hundreds of millions of Americans who purchase lottery tickets every year," said Akshay K. Khanna, co-founder and CEO, Jackpot North America. "Jackpot's goal is to become the leading provider of online lottery tickets in the United States. We are grateful for the support of our investors who will help us accelerate our mission to transform the lottery industry."
Jackpot plans to launch operations in the US in select states this year. For updates on when it will be live in your state, visit www.jackpot.com.
Jackpot is on a mission to fundamentally change the hundred-billion-dollar lottery industry in the United States through innovation and variety. Jackpot brings verified, official state lottery tickets online by leveraging its digital platform and proprietary technology to give customers the ability to play anytime, anywhere via a user-friendly mobile app or desktop experience. To learn more, visit jackpot.com.
SOURCE Jackpot
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